A high-ranking officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Dayton will be part of NASA's investigation into why the Columbia disintegrated over Texas Saturday.

Maj. Gen. John L. Barry is director of plans and programs of the Air Force material command headquarters at the base. He is one of several high-ranking military figures whose expertise NASA is tapping.

Barry's role on the Space Shuttle Mishap Interagency Investigation Board has not been revealed. He was selected as a White House fellow at NASA during the 1986 Challenger disaster and also served as the military assistant to the Secretary of Defense during the 1992 Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.

Barry is a 1973 honor graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours, including more than 270 hours of combat time.